Globe cools slightly in December 2010: 11th - 17th warmest on record
December 2010 was the globe's 17th warmest December on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies rated December 2010 the 11th warmest December on record. December 2010 global ocean temperatures were the 10th warmest on record, and land temperatures were the 30th warmest on record. Global satellite-measured temperatures for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the 7th warmest on record, according to both Remote Sensing Systems and the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH). The global cool-down from November, which was the warmest November on record for the globe, was due in large part to the on-going moderate strength La Niña episode in the Eastern Pacific. The large amount of cold water that upwells to the surface during a La Niña typically causes a substantial cool-down in global temperatures. Still, December 2010 temperatures were warm enough to make 2010 tied with 2005 as Earth's warmest year in history, as I reported in yesterday's post.
For those interested, NCDC has a page of notable weather highlights from December 2010.
Figure 1. Departure of temperature from average for December 2010. Eastern Canada and Greenland were very warm, relative to average, and much of Siberia and Europe were abnormally cold. Image credit: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).
An average December for the U.S.
For the contiguous U.S., December was near-average in temperature, ranking as the 44th coldest December in the 116-year record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The year 2010 was the 23rd warmest on record. A strong "Arctic Oscillation" pattern allowed cold air to spill southward over the Southeast U.S., resulting in the coldest December on record in Florida and Georgia. Nine other states in the Southeast U.S. had top-ten coldest Decembers. Five states in the Southwest U.S. had top-ten warmest Decembers. A series of major snowstorms brought the 7th-largest December snow cover to the U.S. as a whole. December 2010 precipitation in the contiguous U.S. was also near average, ranking 54th driest in the 116-year record. Montana and Utah had their wettest Decembers on record, and six other states had top-ten wettest Decembers--Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Maine, and California. Six states had top-ten driest Decembers--Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, and Delaware.
La Niña in the "moderate" to "strong" category
The equatorial Eastern Pacific Ocean is currently experiencing moderate to strong La Niña conditions. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) over the tropical Eastern Pacific in the area 5°N - 5°S, 120°W - 170°W, also called the "Niña 3.4 region", were 1.5°C below average as of January 10, according to NOAA. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology put this number at 1.45°C below average (as of January 9.) Moderate La Niña conditions are defined as occurring when this number is 1.0°C - 1.5°C below average. Temperatures colder than 1.5°C below average qualify as strong La Niña conditions. NOAA is maintaining its La Niña advisory, and expects La Niña conditions to last through through spring.
Both El Niño and La Niña events have major impacts on regional and global weather patterns. La Niña typically causes warm, dry winters over the southern portion of the U.S., with cooler and wetter than average conditions over the Pacific Northwest. The Ohio and Mississippi Valleys states typically have wetter winters than usual during La Niña events.
December 2010 Arctic sea ice extent lowest on record
Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent in December 2010 was the lowest in the 31-year satellite record, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Ice volume in December was also the lowest on record for this time of year, according to University of Washington Polar Ice Center. At the end of December, the eastern portion of Canada's Hudson Bay remained unfrozen, the first time in recorded history that Hudson Bay has not been completely frozen over at the end of the year. The unusual amount of open water led to temperatures that averaged 20°C (36°F) above normal over a region larger than Texas during the first ten days of January.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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For those with an open mind.
Note, the slander will commence momentarily, but that will not silence the science and analysis contained within :)
http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/originals/noaa_2010_report.pdf
As I am getting older , I find myself getting worser and worser(is that a word) with my English, I was never very good in school with English, maybe I should have listened better and quit trying to make my hair, eyes, and lips more important than my studies. I now know I screwed up in that realm
It would be quite unlikely that an error as large as .5C over 20 years would go unnoticed, especially with satellite data providing data as well.
But you are talking about hypotheticals. Is there any possible way to remove all errors and ensure 100% accuracy. No, of course not. Their can always be an instrument malfunction, or bad entry in a database, or a missing file, or any other number of possible ways errors can creep in.
Could you have a weather station reporting temps slightly too warm? Of course. What about a 100 in the same general area? Less likely.
The point is, based on the data and research we have now collected to the best of our ability, we are seeing planetary warming. Now you can argue all you want about data inaccuracy, however given the thousands upon thousands of measurements the likelihood of a large scale systemic data error is vanishingly small.
You can also email your organization of choice and request the information to see what error bars and methods the use for screening and verifying their data. NOAA and NASA will probably be more than happy to point you to the website where it's described.
OH MY GOODNESS.No comment from me
It's only slander if it's untrue.
It would be so refreshing if deniers were to ever post anything that didn't come from a contrarian site. Is it that they're completely unable to find anything not written or published by the discredited Monckton, the non-science Watts, or the non-climatologist McIntyre?
Oh, that's right; that's exactly what it is. ;-)
Dammit Jim!! There I go typing too fast again
don't you have a job you could be doing? actually everyone on here... how do you have time to post 24/7 on a weather blog?
SPPI? Really? That's like backing up a claim that smoking doesn't give you lung cancer by pointing to a report produced by the tobacco industry.
Right at the beginning they start of with an accusation that NASA and NOAA are wasting "huge" amounts of tax payer dollars on climate research.
Really? The amount of money spent on climate research is less than one day of funding spent on the Iraq war.
Then it goes downhill from there.
The report is not peer reviewed. Nor is it checked for accuracy of any kind. It vitriolic nonsense couched in just enough scientific terminology to convince the lay person that it is a legitimate piece of scientific research. The do not list who funds them, nor any reputable science organization affiliations. They list no peer reviewed publications.
It's "organizations" like this that make having any sort of discussion on the topic so difficult.
But, WTH is he talking about?
"So in that case as he looked it would be atmo. Right?"
Does he think I am posting under 2 monikers? He thinks I need another email and password to remember or would do so with no motivation? And successfully remember it years later?
Sounds like someone needs to get laid. Too bad this guy cant cause he's on this website all day telling everyone their wrong. LOL.
Lose it Jeff..Not appropriate here..Go to the porn site you visit, but not here
haha if I don't use a password in a couple of weeks i have trouble remembering it. I think everyone could make themselves more productive if they went out did/looked for a job during the day, instead of spewing your POV on a weatherblog. At the end of the day, what you post on here will change the world zero percent. So actually go do something with your lives... and make a contribution in the real world, not the blogosphere.
yeah... when one wont forgive for a typo, what kind of person are they really?
L8R.
Does anyone have Dr. Masters's blog from yesterday or the day before? Thanks!!!
Never mind. I found it!
Hello pot, meet kettle.
I only post when I have time between tasks, or on my break. Its been busy lately, so less posts from the peanut gallery (me).
im in college... so no I don't currently own a job, double majoring in physics and meteorology is kinda tough to do. I post when I can, but I see others on here on weekdays 24/7. that cant be good...
Ossqss;
I know what side your take on Climate Change is, I mainly just lurk on here and listen to both sides, but my view is this. Even if our data isn't accurate enough to declare whether change is occuring on a climatic scale or not, how would you personally explain the loss in volume of ice on this planet over the last 100 years? IMO this is one fact that certainly isnt debatable and the rates at which they are doing so is what is alarming.
:)
This is such a cliffhanger, I can't wait for the sequel!
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